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Proposed zoning code changes draw criticism

A new system intended to simplify Columbia’s zoning ordinances continues to draw resistance from developers, realtors and property owners, some of whom said this week they are finding fault with the city’s plans.

In a crowded workshop at Columbia City Hall Wednesday, staff attempted to quell concerns about the proposed city-wide swap to form-based zoning — an ordinance Planning Director Norman Wright said would greatly reduce the more than 30 types of zones in Columbia and streamline the development process.

City Manager Paul Boyer started off the evening’s discussion by telling those present the city has no intention to “ramrod anything down anybody’s throat,” and added that city officials are willing to take their time on the ordinance to ensure it works before it is voted into place.

“We are not in a hurry to get this adopted. If there’s things we need to talk about — including whether we should adopt it or not — we need to slow down, back up and have that discussion,” he said. “One of the things that we as a staff have missed is having an offline conversation with our development community partners, who are the ones that actually have to live with these types of regulations every day.”

A major concern from the community developers present was the amount of oversight the form-based code system would have. Wright said that based on guidelines for land and property uses outlined in the new code, about 80 percent of proposed developments would be able to bypass appearances before the city planning commission and city council for approval. He said this would aid developers in getting to work on their properties more quickly.

The fear persisted though that for the 80 percent of proposed developments skipping commission and council meetings, the decision of whether to allow a development would fall to city staff — in effect, Wright.

“Who controls what you say?” one developer asked. “This bothers me. This is very subjective, it appears to me, in the way that it’s brought about.”

Steve Hill of Maury County Realty said not only does the proposal have the potential to strip the rights of developers, but citizens and neighbors of proposed developments would lose the ability to challenge developments that would no longer require approval from the governing boards.

“We’re losing our rights. I really think for both aspects — whenever we do something, the general public can come in and say, ‘What’s Steve doing?’ and that’s fair,” he said. “I don’t want to lose the ability to do business, and that’s exactly why I’m against what you’re doing.”

City councilwoman and planning commissioner Debbie Matthews said she was surprised by the opposition to the new system, specifically because the current code of more than 30 zonings has shown a pattern of being ineffective, and at times has contradicted itself in its allowable uses. Form-based codes would “protect the visual of Columbia but spur developments” by getting excessive regulations out of developers’ way, she said.

Wright said that the form-based codes would also allow more room for variances for property uses, giving developers a chance to more easily fill vacant properties. He said city staff is also continuing to accept recommendations from the public on other uses, as it is nearly impossible to plan for the variety of uses for a given building.

“One of the hardest things for me and my staff to do was write this use table,” he said. “We still argue this needs to be as flexible as possible. We want there to be public input.”

The planning director continued to press that in comparison to the city’s existing zoning ordinance, the new system is a vast improvement. He said the current ordinance is “broken on several levels,” and the best way to see if form-based codes can improve Columbia is to put it into practice.

Boyer said the city will more than likely hold more discussions on the code in the future to allow for this input, but none have yet been scheduled. The codes will still need to be approved by the planning commission and city council before going into effect. The form-based codes can be viewed online in their entirety at www.columbiatn.com/grants.htm.